According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Kansas City, MO (MCI) ranks #40 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Kansas City, MO posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.
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MCI on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes: 2,960,553.
Late Aircraft42.6% (1,262,423 min)
Carrier30.3% (898,430 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)20.8% (616,258 min)
Weather6.1% (179,905 min)
Security0.1% (3,537 min)
MCI - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: September (93.4%) · worst: July (89.2%)
MCI - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
MCI - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 14.9 min · taxi-in 6.2 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
MCI's average taxi-out (14.9 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 12.8 min (October 2024) to 19.4 min (January 2024).
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Kansas City, MO, both outside Missouri so the neighborhoods are not same-state geography. Axes stay disjoint: volume peers exclude the on-time peer set. Same-state compare stays below.
The standout signal at Kansas City, MO is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 42.6% of 2,960,553 delay minutes across 524,365 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 82% (3 pts above the 79% national average), with 94,477 delayed and 6,385 cancelled (1.22%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (42.6% late-aircraft, 30.3% carrier, 20.8% NAS, 6.1% weather, 0.1% security). As a busy airport, that mix matters more for connection planning than for a thin schedule.
On the multi-year calendar, MCI is strongest in September (93.4% on-time) and weakest in July (89.2%), a 4.2-point swing. Volume peaks in July (~7,906 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to DEN (Denver) at 77.5% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Kansas City, MO vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
82%Top 67%higher than 33% of 382 airports
Kansas City, MO
60%95%
U.S. airports by on-time rate, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more airports. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data (2020–2025).
Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods. On-time rates exclude cancelled and diverted flights.
MCI's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.
Check the busiest route from MCI before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in September rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 14.9 min here; check the monthly series before a tight connection. Taxi times →
On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Kansas City, MO's on-time rate?
Kansas City, MO (MCI) has a 82% on-time rate across 524,365 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 3 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the below-median on-time performance.
How does MCI rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Kansas City, MO ranks #40 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a high-volume U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Kansas City, MO?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at MCI, accounting for 42.6% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 42.6% late-aircraft, 30.3% carrier, 20.8% NAS/air-traffic-control, 6.1% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Kansas City, MO?
September is historically MCI's strongest month at 93.4% on-time, while July is the weakest at 89.2%, a 4.2-point swing across the BTS historical record.
Data sourced from U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) On-Time Performance data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFlights